Portal:Finland

The Finland Portal

Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, opposite Estonia. Finland has a population of 5.6 million, the majority being ethnic Finns. Its capital and largest city is Helsinki. The official languages are Finnish and Swedish, the mother tongues of 84.1 percent and 5.1 percent of the population, respectively. Finland's climate varies from humid continental in the south to boreal in the north. Its land is predominantly covered by boreal forest, with over 180,000 recorded lakes.

Finland was first settled around 9000 BC after the last Ice Age. During the Stone Age, various cultures emerged, distinguished by different styles of ceramics. The Bronze Age and Iron Ages were marked by contacts with other cultures in Fennoscandia and the Baltic region. From the late 13th century, Finland became part of Sweden following the Northern Crusades. In 1809, as a result of the Finnish War, Finland was captured from Sweden and became an autonomous grand duchy within the Russian Empire. During this period, Finnish art flourished and an independence movement gradually developed. Finland became the first territory in Europe to grant universal suffrage in 1906, and the first in the world to give all adult citizens the right to run for public office. (Full article...)

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There are 53 municipalities of Finland in which Finnish is not the sole official language. In Finland, as of December 31, 2013, 89.3% of the population speak Finnish, 5.3% Swedish and 0.04% Sami languages. Both Finnish and Swedish are official languages of Finland. Officially, a municipality is bilingual if the minority language group consists of at least 8% of the population, or at least 3,000 speakers. A previously bilingual municipality remains so if the linguistic minority proportion drops below 8%, up to 6%. If it drops below 6%, it is possible for the municipality to remain bilingual by government decree, on the recommendation of the municipal council, for a further ten years. Municipalities that make use of the 3,000-speaker rule include the national capital Helsinki and the cultural center of Swedish Finns, Turku. On the Åland archipelago, where Finnish is almost absent from daily life, the language law does not apply. On the mainland, the highest proportion of Swedish-speakers is found on the western coast, in Ostrobothnia.

Of the 310 Finnish municipalities, 16 are monolingually Swedish. 33 municipalities are bilingually Finnish and Swedish; of these, 15 have a Swedish-speaking majority and 18 a Finnish-speaking one. Four municipalities, all located in Lapland, have a Finnish-speaking majority and a Sami-speaking minority: Enontekiö, Inari, Sodankylä and Utsjoki. Initially, only Swedish was accorded official bilingualism, through a language act of 1922; similar provisions were extended to Sami through a 1991 law. The 1922 law was replaced by new but largely similar legislation in 2003. (Full article...)

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Photo credit: Petteri Sulonen
The VR warehouses in Helsinki on fire on May 5th 2006.

Did you know (auto-generated)

... that Joe Wirkkunen coached the Finland men's national ice hockey team after receiving a recommendation from Canada?
... that among the fossils of Finland are the remains of a woolly mammoth and a woolly rhinoceros?
... that Turku remained the largest city in Finland after three quarters of it burned down?
... that Charlotte Haining was an International Jury Member for the selection of Finland's 2020 Eurovision Song Contest entry?
... that Finland won its first Olympic ice hockey medal under the leadership of Kai Hietarinta?
... that a song about an esports team went viral in Finland?

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You are invited to participate in Finland WikiProject, a WikiProject dedicated to developing and improving articles about Finland.

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...that the career of Tiia Piili, four-time FISAF World Champion in sport aerobics, was threatened when she got food poisoning attending a competition in Morocco?
...that Erkki Karu founded both Suomi-Filmi and Suomen Filmiteollisuus, the two largest film production companies during the 'Golden Age' of Finnish cinema?
...that "Blooddrunk", a track by Finnish band Children of Bodom about self-destructive behaviour, debuted at number one in Finland?
...that Taisto Mäki, one of the so-called Flying Finns, was the first man to run 10,000 metres in under half an hour?
...that when called by the opposition to quit after the Kauhajoki school shooting, Finnish politician Anne Holmlund refused and compared resigning her post as Interior Minister to "desertion"?

... that the asteroid 1536 Pielinen is named after Pielinen Lake (pictured) in Finland?

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A scene of the Kauhajoki vocational college campus a few hours after the shooting

The Kauhajoki school shooting occurred on 23 September 2008 at the Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences (SeAMK) in Kauhajoki, Finland. The gunman, 22-year-old student Matti Juhani Saari, shot and killed ten people with a Walther P22 Target semi-automatic pistol, before shooting himself in the head. He died a few hours later at Tampere University Hospital. One woman was injured but remained in stable condition.

The shooting took place at the Kauhajoki School of Hospitality, owned by the Seinäjoki Municipal Federation of Education. The facilities and campus were shared between SeAMK and the Seinäjoki Vocational Education Centre – Sedu. Saari was a second-year student in a Hospitality Management undergraduate degree programme. The incident was the second school shooting in less than a year in Finland, the other being the Jokela school shooting in November 2007, in which nine people including the gunman died. The first similar incident in the country's history was the Raumanmeri school shooting in Rauma in 1989, leaving two people dead. (Full article...)

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General images

The following are images from various Finland-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1The public education system founded during earlier Swedish rule resulted the literacy of Grand Duchy of Finland being higher than its host country Russian Empire (map of 1897 census literacy data) (from History of Finland)
Image 2An old drawing of the city of Turku in the 18th century (from History of Finland)
Image 3A group of Finnish soldiers operating a Bofors gun during the Continuation War in 1943 (from History of Finland)
Image 4Linus Torvalds, a famous Fennoswede software engineer, best known for initiating the development of the Linux kernel (from Culture of Finland)
Image 5Sámi family in traditional costumes from Finland. (from Culture of Finland)
Image 6People gathered in the Senate Square for a demonstration against the February Manifesto in March 1899. (from History of Finland)
Image 7Stone Age stone axe engraved with human face found from Kiuruvesi. (from History of Finland)
Image 8The Swedish empire at its largest. Most of present-day Finland was part of Sweden proper, rike, shown in dark green. (from History of Finland)
Image 9Homann's map of the Scandinavian Peninsula and Fennoscandia with their surrounding territories: northern Germany, northern Poland, the Baltic region, Livonia, Belarus, and parts of Northwest Russia. Johann Baptist Homann (1664–1724) was a German geographer and cartographer; map dated around 1730. (from History of Finland)
Image 10A reconstruction of a 12th-century Perniö costume (from History of Finland)
Image 11Midsummer bonfire (kokko) in Mäntsälä (from Culture of Finland)
Image 122007 Formula One World Champion Kimi Räikkönen celebrating victory at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix (from Culture of Finland)
Image 13A peasant girl and a woman in traditional dress from Ruokolahti, eastern Finland, as depicted by Severin Falkman in 1882 (from Culture of Finland)
Image 14Alvar Aalto, Viipuri Library (1927–35) (from Culture of Finland)
Image 15Three Finnish Romani women in Helsinki, Finland, in 1930s (from Culture of Finland)
Image 16S/S Urania in Hanko harbor in 1893, with 509 emigrants on board on their way to America (from History of Finland)
Image 17The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865–1957), a significant figure in the history of classical music (from Culture of Finland)
Image 18Kalmar Union in 1400s (from History of Finland)
Image 19A smoke sauna (savusauna) in Enonkoski (from Culture of Finland)
Image 20Women in sauna with Vihtas
Image 21The Finno-Soviet Treaty (from History of Finland)
Image 22Prehistoric red ochre painted rock art of moose, human figures, and boats in Astuvansalmi, Finland, from ca. 3800–2200 BC (from Culture of Finland)
Image 23Erkki Karu, one of the pioneers of the Finnish cinema, with cinematographer Eino Kari in 1927 (from Culture of Finland)
Image 24Battle of Gangut (Hanko) was part of the Great Northern War during 1700–1721. (from History of Finland)
Image 25Eero Järnefelt, Burning the Brushwood, 1893 (from History of Finland)
Image 26Jean Sibelius at work in his study (from History of Finland)
Image 27Helsinki Accords Treaty (from History of Finland)
Image 28The area controlled by Finland at its largest, in 1942 (from History of Finland)
Image 29Finnish folk dancers in a 1907 postcard sent from Mustamäki, Finland (from Culture of Finland)
Image 30Portrait of Finnish poet Elias Lönnrot who wrote "the Kalevala" (1802 - 1884) (from History of Finland)
Image 31Ancylus Lake covered major part of Finland (7,500–6,000 BC) (from History of Finland)
Image 32Mikael Agricola hands over the Finnish Translation of the New Testament to King Gustav Wasa. (from History of Finland)
Image 33Memorial of the Mannerheim Cross Knights of Parikkala, Finland (from History of Finland)
Image 34Grand Duchy of Finland, 75 kopek assignat (1824) (from History of Finland)
Image 35Turku Cathedral and its surroundings from 1814 (from History of Finland)
Image 36A summer cottage (mökki) on a lake island (from Culture of Finland)
Image 37Battle of Valkeala was part of the Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790). (from History of Finland)
Image 38The ruins of Vammala burned by the Reds, during the Civil war (from History of Finland)
Image 39Finnish Guards' Rifle Battalion, 1850s (from History of Finland)
Image 40Northern Europe in 814 (from History of Finland)
Image 41Kastelli Giant's Church in Pattijoki by Pöljä culture [fi] (from History of Finland)
Image 42(1809 Diet of Porvoo) The sovereign's pledge, printed in Finnish (from History of Finland)
Image 43Wehrmacht soldiers with a local Sámi reindeer herder, Lappland, Sodankylä, Finland 1942 (from History of Finland)
Image 44The decision of the Soviet of the People's Comissars' to recognise Finnish independence, signed by Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, Grigory Petrovsky, Joseph Stalin, Isaac Steinberg, Vladimir Karelin, and Alexander Schlichter (from History of Finland)
Image 45Finland Ostrobothnia regiment uniforms in 1705 (from History of Finland)
Image 46Karjalanpiirakka, a traditional Finnish pastry (from Culture of Finland)
Image 47Jussipaita (transl. Jussi sweater); a traditional sweater from the Finnish region of Southern Ostrobothnia (from Culture of Finland)
Image 48In 2011 figure skater Kiira Korpi was ranked 4th in the world. (from Culture of Finland)
Image 49Stone Age dwelling named Kierikki 5000–3000 BC (from History of Finland)
Image 50Kreeta Haapasalo Playing the Kantele in a Peasant Cottage (1868), by Robert Wilhelm Ekman (from History of Finland)
Image 51Pieces of the Antrea Net (8,300 BC), the oldest-known fishing net in the world. (from History of Finland)
Image 52A triptych by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, depicting the Aino Story of Kalevala on three panes (from Culture of Finland)
Image 53Women dressed in Finnish folk costumes (from Culture of Finland)
Image 54Winter War Monument in Suomussalmi, Kainuu, Finland (from History of Finland)
Image 55In the middle is the patron saint of Finland, Saint Henry, on the right side of him is Bishop Konrad Bitz and on the left is Dean Magnus Stjernkors; from Missale Aboense (1488) (from History of Finland)
Image 56Lapua Movement supporters beating the "red officer" Eino Nieminen [fi] in front of the Vaasa courthouse during the 4 June 1930 riot. (from History of Finland)
Image 57President K. J. Ståhlberg in his office in 1919 (from History of Finland)
Image 58Apocalyptica's Perttu Kivilaakso playing metal music live (from Culture of Finland)
Image 59A view of Pohjoisesplanadi in the center of Helsinki in 1891 (from History of Finland)
Image 60Imagery collage of Birger Jarl conquering Häme and the construction of Häme Castle (from History of Finland)
Image 61The area of Finland in the years 1920–1940. The 1935 county and municipality division on the map. (from History of Finland)
Image 62Map of Finnish areas ceded to the Soviet Union in 1944, after the Continuation War (from History of Finland)
Image 63Paavo Nurmi at the 1920 Summer Olympics (from Culture of Finland)
Image 64Identification document and tag of a Finnish war child (from History of Finland)
Image 65Painting of Lalli killing Henry. Painting by C. A. Ekman. (from History of Finland)
Image 66This 1825 map of the Grand Duchy of Finland is from a larger work, geographical atlas of the Russian Empire. (from History of Finland)
Image 67Janne Ahonen is considered one of the best and most successful currently active ski jumpers. (from Culture of Finland)
Image 68In the sauna, by Pekka Halonen, 1925 (from Culture of Finland)
Image 69Signing the Helsinki Accords are the West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, East Germany's leader Erich Honecker, US president Gerald Ford and the Austrian chancellor Bruno Kreisky (from History of Finland)
Image 70The first government of independent Finland. P. E. Svinhufvud, the first Prime Minister of Finland, sitting at the head of the table. (from History of Finland)
Image 71Captain Aarne Juutilainen at the front at Kollaa during the Winter War (from History of Finland)
Image 72Badge of the Finnish White/Civil Guard (from History of Finland)
Image 73Pekka Halonen's painting "against persecutors" from 1896 depicts the warfare of the ancient Finns. (from History of Finland)
Image 74Marshal of Finland Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim visit in Germany, 1942 (from History of Finland)
Image 75The part of Finland controlled by the Reds at its largest in February–March 1918 (from History of Finland)
Image 76Students on Helsinki's Esplanadi wearing their caps on Vappu (from Culture of Finland)
Image 77President Urho Kekkonen's funeral procession in 1986 (from History of Finland)

In the news

19 June 2025 –: The Finnish Parliament votes 155–18 to withdraw from the Ottawa Treaty, which bans the use of anti-personnel mines, citing the threat Russia poses to its national security. (Reuters) (Helsingin Sanomat)
21 May 2025 – Foreign relations of Israel: More than a dozen governments condemn the Israeli military firing in the direction of a diplomatic delegation with representatives from 31 countries including Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, the European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay. (The Guardian) (Al Jazeera)
20 May 2025 –: Three students are injured in a mass stabbing attack at a school in Pirkkala, Pirkanmaa, Finland. The suspect, a 16-year-old, released a manifesto saying his target was women. (Yle)
17 May 2025 –: Five people, including Estonian businessmen Oleg Sõnajalg and Priit Jaagant, are killed when two Robinson R44 civilian helicopters en route to Piikajärvi Airfield collide mid-air and crash into the ground in a forested area near Eura, Satakunta, Finland. (Eesti Rahvusringhääling)
14 January 2025 – 2024 Baltic Sea submarine cable disruptions, NATO operations: At the Summit of Baltic Sea Allies in Helsinki, Finland, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announces the establishment of the Baltic Sentry military mission, which will strengthen the protection of critical infrastructure in the region, such as energy and communication cables, from "destabilizing acts". (NATO News)
3 January 2025 – 2024 Estlink 2 incident: A district court in Helsinki, Finland, denies a request to release the impounded oil tanker Eagle S, suspected of damaging the Estlink 2 submarine power cable and carrying sanctioned Russian oil. (Al Jazeera)

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View from the water tower in Hanko, Finland

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Panoramic photo shot from the water tower in Hanko, Finland

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